Over the last few months, the town of Adamsville had experienced more than its share of changes, an influx of strangers and erosion of the status quo. No one felt the impact of the changes more intensely than the three friends who huddled together in their usual booth at the diner, deep in conversation over a forgotten basket of French fries and three cokes whose melting ice was turning them to caramel flavored water.
“I don’t know whether to believe Josh’s story or not.” Amy whispered. “It seems awfully bizarre. Maybe he was on drugs. Though by the look…and smell of him, I could almost believe he was abducted by aliens.”
“I know what you mean.” Mary chimed in. “Somehow, it makes more sense than a couple of goons dragging Mr. Adams into the old mine and chaining him to a wall.”
“What about the part where all the other people suddenly disappeared?” Paul added. “That was either a really bad trip or something Josh’s overactive imagination conjured up because he felt like we were abandoning him. Frankly, I can’t believe his imagination possesses so much creativity.”
Although the trio laughed nervously over Paul’s jest, they really didn’t see much to laugh about when the last time they saw their once strong, assertive, bossy friend he was babbling incoherently, and smelling like rotting sewage .
Mary tilted her head to the side; her expression pensive as she looked at Paul. “You have to admit, there were some weird things going on around the mine. If you remember, we got out of there fast when we nearly ran into those big goons on the quads.”
Amy’s head jerked up and her hand froze over the fry she’d been idly dragging back and forth through a puddle of ketchup. Too late, Paul and Mary realized they’d failed to share their little scouting expedition with her.
“What are you talking about? When were you at the mine? Or more to the point, why were you at the mine?” Amy leaned back in her chair, distrust evident in her narrowed eyes.
Putting his hand on Mary’s arm as if to say “let me tell it”, Paul softened his voice. “It was nothing, Ame. We thought we saw Josh driving back from the mine one day and tried to figure out why he’d gone out there. All we saw were a few people walking around outside, and a couple of big guys on quads. We didn’t want anyone to think we were snooping so we just got out of there fast when the guys on the ATV’s got too close to our hiding place.” His omission of their first visit to the mine was not lost on Mary. She heard his unspoken message loud and clear; keep the story simple. She squeezed Paul’s hand under the table and remained silent, her face impassive.
“Was Josh there the day you went?” Amy demanded.
“Well, um…” Paul was clearly uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking. “OK, yeah, we saw him there, and Mr. Adams too.” He admitted, lowering his head so his eyes were hidden.
“And you didn’t see fit to mention this to me because?” Amy’s voice was becoming shrill, attracting the attention of the other patrons in the diner.
“I guess we just didn’t think anything of it at the time.” Mary answered. Misery filled her eyes. The words sounded lame even to her. “We just figured Josh was doing something for Mr. Adams. They’ve been pretty tight for the last few months and we were beginning to suspect Adams was behind what Josh was having us do to Sasha. Remember how she got in trouble for the glue in her locker? It didn’t make sense he’d punish the victim.”
“Why didn’t you say something if you thought it was wrong?” Amy demanded.
Looking miserable again for her part in Sash’s abuse, Mary addressed her next remarks to the tabletop. “I guess I was as caught up as everyone else in the novelty of getting away with all of the things we were doing. It wasn’t until later I realized how awful and out of character we were all behaving. If I ever get a chance to see Sasha again, I will apologize and beg her forgiveness.”
“Out of character.” Paul mused. “Seems like a lot of people have been behaving oddly for the last year; ever since strangers started showing up in town and opened the mine. Then, just before school let out for the summer, it’s as if we woke up from a bad dream, and couldn’t remember how we got here.”
“You know, you’re right, Paul.” Mary replied. “It’s as if we spent the last year sleep walking, then suddenly, woke up disoriented and confused. Not to mention, appalled by our own behavior.”
Lost in their own musings, the three sat in silence for a few minutes, then as one, they jumped up from the table, gathered their things and rushed out the door. Each one acting as if they’d remembered an urgent appointment.
“Wonder what got into them?” One girl asked as the three walked past, oblivious to everyone else in the diner.
“Beats me.” Her friend answered. “They’ve been acting weird for months. Seems like they’ve gotten even weirder lately, and I heard their friend, Josh, had a nervous breakdown or something.”
“You mean, Josh, the quarterback? Mr. God’s gift to the world, himself?” The first girl asked, her mouth hanging open.
“One and the same.” Her friend replied. “How far the mighty have fallen.”
Laughing amongst themselves, they went back to their burgers and the conversation Paul, Amy and Mary’s abrupt exit had interrupted.